Dems work on Miss. Medicaid expansion proposal

JACKSON — Mississippi legislative Democrats say they’re working on proposals to keep Medicaid alive and funded in the budget year that starts July 1.

They say they’re doing this in case Republican Gov. Phil Bryant calls a special session before the end of June.

However, Bryant said last week he believes he can run Medicaid without legislative authorization — even with no budget in place.

House Democratic Leader Bobby Moak says there’s new urgency because a federal agency on Monday released proposed rules for how it would reduce Medicaid payments to hospitals that treat large numbers of uninsured patients. If the rules are adopted, changes could start taking effect in a few months.

Mississippi hospital leaders worry they’ll still face large numbers of patients who don’t have private insurance or Medicaid.